Major General Shavendra Silva gives evidence in “white flag” case

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 November 2010, 10:39 GMT]Major General Shavendra Silva, now posted as Sri Lanka’s Deputy
Permanent Representative in the United Nations Monda, gave evidence
before a three-member bench of the Colombo High Court in a case in
which the former Commander of the Sri Lanka Army Sarath Fonseka has
been charged for causing disrepute to the government by an alleged
interview to the English weekly Sunday Leader. Sarath Fonseka is
reported to have alleged in that interview that the Defense Secretary
Gotabaya Rajapaksa had ordered Major General Shavendra Silva to shoot
all LTTE cadres dead who come forward to surrender holding white
flags.

Major General Silva was the commander of the 58th brigade during the
final stages of the war last year.

His evidence was led by the Deputy Solicitor General Navaratna
Bandara.

He said the civilians and LTTE cadres who surrendered
themselves over to the army in the Wanni battle were not fired upon
due to the strict order by the Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa to
carry out the Vanni humanitarian mission with minimum human
casualties. On the instructions of the Defense Secretary all persons
surrendered to the army were taken to safe places and were provided
with bottles of water and medical treatment.

Maj. Gen. Shavendra Silva further said that he had no personal grudge
against Sarath Fonseka who was the Army Commander at the time of the
Vanni humanitarian mission.

Several persons in groups with and
without white flags, some even raising both their hands came forward
to hand themselves over and they were taken in by the security forces,
he said in reply to the Deputy Solicitor General.